Pace is our strength: Corrie van Zyl

Your first assignment with the national team could turn out to be your toughest…
I was with the national team before as an assistant coach. Playing India in India is no easy assignment.  It could be a tough tour, particularly because India are playing very good cricket.
Realistically, how much of a chance do you give your team?
I would rather not talk about our chances. If we adjust to the conditions well, then we have a very good chance because we have a very good side.

The series is being promoted as the ‘World Test Championship’…
We don’t want to put pressure on ourselves by thinking too much about the Test championship series. It has happened to us before as well.

Indian think-tank also consists of South Africans. In the end it could come down to how one South African outthinks the other.
I don’t think so. It’s more about the players than about the coaching staff.

How do you see the contest panning out — will it be Indian spin vs SA pacers?
If we look at the history of the Nagpur wicket, it has been a spinning wicket. I’m also sure it spins in Kolkata also. So it will be about South Africa coming to grips with spin. It will also be important for our spinners to rise to the challenge.  We are prepared to face the spinners but the series will not be only about spinners. I think our seamers also will play a part.

What is your prediction for the series?
I’m not going to make any predictions. I was never that kind of player or coach to think about the final result before the start of the series. We are just focused on the series.

The Indian team has shown a weakness against the rising ball…
We have watched Tests involving the Indians and have made our notes. I will not be drawn into a discussion on our strategy. But look, our strength is our pace attack and we have to extract the best out of the wicket, no matter what the conditions are.

Rahul Dravid will not be playing the series… is that an advantage?
It is sad that Rahul will not be a part of it because of an injury. But the Indian team is full of quality players.

How much of impact the recent turn of events could affect your side?
Most of our players are professionals. Before coming to India, I have spoken to my predecessor Mickey Arthur to get an update about the preparations. Yes, there will be the odd hiccup but our target is to lessen the impact. But as I started answering the question, the players are professionals and they know what they need to do.

Graeme Smith, it is said, is a tough man to work with.
I was the team’s assistant coach when Graeme Smith started. I do get along very well with him.

Reports say it could be your last assignment and Gary Kirsten could be your successor.
That’s something I don’t want to get into a discussion about. Yes, I’m the caretaker coach for the series but I would love to be the coach going into the future as well. Any coach’s dream is to coach his country.  But if it comes to a situation where everybody needs to apply for the job and if Gary applies for it, so be it. I’m going to do the best I can.